Columbia student protester, green card holder released on bail in Vermont after arrest over campus antisemitic activities

Mohsen Mahdawi, a green card holder, was arrested earlier this month by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Vermont. US District Judge Geoffrey Crawford ordered his release on Wednesday following a hearing.

Mahdawi issued a defiant message aimed at President Donald Trump and his administration as he left the Vermont courthouse, saying, "I am saying it clear and loud to President Trump and his Cabinet: I am not afraid of you," according to a report by Fox News.

Mahdawi, 34, is a co-founder of the Palestinian Student Union at Columbia University, established in the fall of 2023 following the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel. He founded the group alongside pro-Palestinian activist Mahoud Khalil, who was also detained earlier this year by federal immigration officials.

In a joint statement by Vermont’s congressional delegation, Senators Bernie Sanders and Peter Welch as well as Representative Becca Balint condemned Mahdawi’s arrest, saying he walked into an immigration office for “what was supposed to be the final step in his citizenship process" but was "arrested and removed in handcuffs by plainclothes, armed individuals with their faces covered."

"These individuals refused to provide any information as to where he was being taken or what would happen to him," the lawmakers said. "Mr. Mahdawi, a legal resident of the United States, must be afforded due process under the law and immediately released from detention."

Mahdawi, who was born in a refugee camp in the West Bank, is a permanent US resident. Following Wednesday’s hearing, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin released a statement affirming the Trump administration’s stance on immigration enforcement.

"It is a privilege to be granted a visa or green card to live and study in the United States of America," McLaughlin said. "When you advocate for violence, glorify and support terrorists that relish the killing of Americans, and harass Jews, that privilege should be revoked, and you should not be in this country."